#The Final Season

[karis17love]

My baby blue!

[hkthatgffan]

Now that I finished all the episodes, I thought I'd look through the Hilda tie in books. I think this single illustration sums up everything I love about this show and will miss so dearly about it. Hilda was the most wholesome, cozy and loving show I have ever seen. The happiness and joy it brought to me with every episode is not something I have ever felt in any other show I currently am watching. There will never be a series like it again IMO.

Thank you to Luke Pearson, Mercury Filmworks and the whole Hilda team for 5 incredible years of memories, adventure and fun that you gave me and so many. Thank you for giving the Canadian animation industry a show that we truly can be proud to say we helped make possible. This country still can make some incredible cartoons like we did when I was growing up; the kind of shows that influenced what I love and look for the most in a show and why I think I loved Hilda so much.

I will never forget Hilda. I will forever miss Hilda. It's legacy and place in my heart is forever secure.

Till the next adventure...whenever that may be.

2018 - 2023

Every Season 3 episode title card!

[cosmicjoke]

Alright... okay... I just... need a moment.

Fuck, I'm emotional. I'm trying to gather my thoughts, but it's difficult. So I'm going to try my best.

First, I just want to say thank you, thank you, thank you to everyone involved in the creation of this anime, of this story, of this masterful, masterful piece of art. The animators, the composers, the writers, the voice actors, the directors, the producers, just, everyone. And most especially, to Hajim Isayama, who, without doubt, has created one of the greatest stories ever told.

And with that said, I'm just going to say this. "Attack on Titan" is, in my opinion, the greatest show ever made. I mean that, sincerely, and with all my heart. It's the greatest show, and one of the greatest stories, of all time. It's truly a masterpiece. A pillar of great art. I don't think that's hyperbole. I think that's absolutely true.

I don't even know where to start.

I'm just blown away. Completely blown away.

Ahh, well, I guess I'll just start by talking about some of the changes that were made, and what wasn't, and how much I appreciate both. I knew they would stick with the overall story and not change the ending, and I'm so glad they didn't, because it was always the right ending. I don't care what anyone says, what anyone's criticisms are. This was always, always, always the right ending.

The obviously biggest change was the conversation between Armin and Eren near the end, and I think, given the controversy caused by this particular moment in the manga, I'm not surprised, and I think they did an excellent job of clarifying what Armin actually meant, and most importantly, that he wasn't ever condoning Eren's actions. That they had Armin instead take on and shoulder the responsibility of Eren's actions, in a show of love and friendship to Eren, was incredibly moving and gut-wrenching at the same time. That Armin blamed himself for what Eren did as much as Eren himself, and said that they would be together again someday, in hell, was actually incredibly shocking to me. But then, it makes perfect sense for Armin's character. Armin, who from the very beginning understood and accepted the bleak reality of war, of having to abandon one's humanity in order to accomplish victory. Armin's never shied away from who he really is, or what he's capable of, or tried to console himself with an idealized self-image. It doesn't surprise me that he blames himself for Eren's actions, or takes on as much responsibility for them as he places on Eren. Though one could argue all day against Armin's self-condemnation, I think it makes perfect sense for his character. I also adore how they really clarified and left no room for doubt as to the motivation behind Eren's actions. He just flat out admits at the end that it was because he wanted to "see this sight", meaning a world completely devoid of humanity, of life. He admits to Armin that he's a "slave to freedom", that this outcome came about because of who he is and for no other reason. Not to make the alliance into heroes, not to save Paradis. It was because Eren couldn't accept a concept of freedom beyond what he'd seen in Armin's book. Because, as he says of himself, he was an idiot who came into power. 80% of the world's population died because of that. But as Historia also admits in the end, it's also a result of ALL their choices. I always have maintained that AoT is a cautionary tale of what happens when we blame and persecute and hold accountable people for the sins of the past. Eren, an idiot, only came into that power to begin with because of Marley's persecution of the Eldian's, continuing to punish the Eldian people for the crimes of their ancestors. Indeed, Historia was correct. It was a culmination of all of their choices. Violence begetting more violence, and on and on the cycle continues.

The Jeagerist's created an army out of fear of reprisals from what remains of the outside world, but in doing so, they sealed their own fate. In becoming so hostile to begin with, they ensured those reprisals. That's the great irony. They formed an army to protect themselves, they became a hostile nation, an isolationist nation, and in the end, it lead directly to them being destroyed. As Armin tells Eren, his violence and desire to see a world wiped clean of humanity leaves them with nothing but the lesson of kill or be killed. It leaves nothing but a legacy of continued violence. That's the whole point of this story, of course. That violence only ever leads to more violence. Even when we don't have a choice, even when we're backed into a corner and there's no way out but to fight, even when it's the right and only choice. That's the tragedy of violence. That's the tragedy of the world. That's the tragedy of humanity. It's not that violence is always wrong. Violence isn't always wrong, but it's always tragic, and it always only leads to tragedy. Armin's condemnation of Eren and his actions here, telling him that he's robbed the world of even the small hope of one day understanding one another, that's the condemnation of Eren's violence, the condemnation of the cycle of violence. He pushed Paradis toward armament through his actions, but so did the rest of the world. People will always fight one another. There will always be war as long as there are people. The only way there won't be war is if there are no people, as Armin says, and that's the biggest joke of all. There's no such thing as lasting peace. Paradis meets its demise in the very end because it falls to the same trap, the same cycle of violence, the same cycle of continued hate that drives all war and that, saddest of all, is intrinsic to the human condition. Violence is intrinsic to the human condition, and to nature itself. In the end, Paradis brings about it's own demise, just as, in the end, Marley and all those who persecuted the Eldian's, brought about theirs. This is an anti-war story. That's what it's always been. Anyone who says otherwise is a fool. But it's also a story about the tragedy of humanity and the inescapability of our nature as a species.

So, okay, now, because I'm primarily a blog which talks about Levi, and because Levi is probably, far and away, my favorite character of all time, I have to talk about him.

What can I say?

Levi was the hero of this final episode. Of this final bow of what, again I repeat, is the greatest show I've ever seen, and one of the greatest stories ever told.

Levi is a hero.

First, if anyone, if I see anyone ever, ever, ever question Levi's commitment to humanity and to saving it ever again, after watching this episode, I will come down on them like a fucking bomb myself.

Levi saved humanity.

They all did, of course. They all contributed.

But Levi... Levi was the leader that saved humanity. He became the leader in that moment that humanity needed. For all the talk and accusations thrown Levi's way, of robbing humanity of it's greatest chance at survival in Erwin, by letting Erwin die, it was in a time of humanities greatest need that Levi stepped up and took the reigns and didn't let humanity fall.

Levi wasn't the strongest in this battle. He wasn't humanities strongest soldier anymore. He wasn't the most affective in battle, or able to single-handedly turn the tide of the battle, like he might once have been able to. But he didn't let anyone give up. He didn't let anyone give in. He didn't let anyone lose hope.

I've been saying this since the manga ended, but seeing it brought to life like this only drives it home all the more.

Levi rallied and organized and held together his soldiers when they were all ready to give up and give in. When his own body was ready to give in and give up, Levi's heart and will wouldn't. It was Levi who enabled Mikasa to deliver the final, killing blow to Eren by not giving in to despair or fear or grief when it became clear that everyone on the ground was going to turn into a pure titan. It was Levi who, in the end, fulfilled the dream of his fallen comrades of a world without titans, by keeping it together and giving out orders, by abandoning his own driving need to save lives, like he's always done, since the beginning, in order save more, in order to save the lives of people who had done nothing, in fact, but condemn and persecute him his whole life.

Levi is a hero. He's a pure hero. He has the purest heart of anyone. He's the best of them all.

And I think the change they made to Levi's final scene just drives that truth home all the more.

I'm not gonna' lie, I nearly burst into tears seeing what they did in Levi's last scene. To have him sitting there in his wheelchair, his body not even a fraction of what it had once been, but still finding a way to help people, to help, especially, children, again, it drives home without doubt what Levi is. A hero. To see him handing out candy to children, to see the happiness he finds in that simple act... Jesus Christ, I really don't even know what to say about this. It was maybe the most beautiful moment in the entire series. Shit, I'm gonna start crying just talking about it. To see him smile, again, at last, to see him truly at peace. He found a way to be a hero, even with his strength gone. He found a way to be a hero without having to be a weapon, because Levi's heroism was never in his strength. It was never because he was physically strong, or a weapon. It was never because being a hero was easy for him. It was because of his heart. Because his heart is the heart of a hero. His heart is the heart of someone who has only ever wanted to help and protect others. That he still wants to and does help people, despite already having given everything...

Yeah, don't nobody ever, EVER say to me again that Levi doesn't care about humanity. He helps even when he doesn't have to. Even when he deserves to be selfish.

He cares more than anyone.

Man, that's all I have for now. I'm pretty speechless about this episode. I'm just beyond words.

Greatest show ever. Not anime. Just any show, ever. One of the greatest pieces of cinema ever made. One of the greatest stories ever told, with some of the greatest characters to ever exist.

Thank you Hajime Isayama, for giving this gift to the world.

[sarcasticsouthernbookworm]

They’re so close to speak no evil, hear no evil, see no evil

[mirrandapl]

Fishing Cabin.

[bourbonificould]

TWDG Icons - Season 4, pt. 1

Longer one, like & reblog if you like or use them!

[dizzyskizz]

Attack on titan official arts✨

[natsuki208]

Me during AOT S4 when it started off focusing on Reiner and Marley, only to shift back to Eren and the Scouts and then introduce Hizaru to Mikasa:

[morkses-awful-house]

This clip really made me laugh. Johnny's face is a treasure.

[randomthunk]

5 years of Dob crushing on Liliana destroyed in one face-to-face conversation about pot soaking.

[celestielswp]

LEVI ACKERMAN in 'The Final Chapters' | 4x30

look who showed up. were you watching? seems this was the resolution you gave your hearts for.

[karis17love]

*screaming*

[hkthatgffan]

We got some new stills from season 3 of Hilda, 3 weeks out from the premiere. What's On Netflix posted some in an article and Netflix quietly dropped a preview of S3 in their December showcase video. It's region locked so I'll link a reupload I made on Imgur below for all my non American and Canadian followers.

I'm still not ready to say goodbye to Hilda!

CAN/US link

International link

Images article

[cosmicjoke]

Another change they made to Levi's ending that I wanted to talk about, and that I loved, was the birds flying over head, with him, Gabi and Falco watching them.

We see Levi look up at them, and I feel like it's the fulfillment of his own philosophy, his own belief in the sanctity and value of life. I feel like, with that final shot of him, looking up at those birds, at the sight of life thriving, despite the devastating destruction and loss of life they all experienced not so long before, it's like the narrative affirming that Levi was always right.

Throughout the story, Levi was diametrically opposed to Zeke in their beliefs and philosophy, Zeke representing the idea of life being meaningless and worthless, Levi representing the idea of life having intrinsic meaning and worth. And I feel like that final shot, with the birds, and with Levi looking up at them with maybe the most contented expression he's ever worn, is a confirmation of Levi's belief and what he represented within the story, that life matters, that life is worth living, that life is worth protecting and cherishing and fighting for, and a rejection of Zeke's belief, that life is meaningless and worthless and nothing but cruelty. Levi won against Zeke in more ways than one, then. Not just physically. He won against Zeke's nihilism and cruelty. His beauty won against Zeke's ugliness.

I think that's also part of what makes Levi's ending so powerful and satisfying. It feels right that Levi should win that battle. That compassion and kindness and empathy should defeat bitterness and hate and selfishness. Even if just for Levi's story, that holds true, it's enough to leave the rest of us with hope.

Because I think that's also what Levi represents within the story.

Hope.

He's the best that humanity has to offer.

As ugly as we all can be, as cruel and heartless and uncaring, there's always the exception, always the example of what a person can be beyond that cruelty and heartlessness, in spite of the cruelty and heartlessness. And in Attack on Titan, that person is Levi. He's that exception.

Levi is relatable to us, not because he's like us, necessarily, but because he's what we hope and strive to become. He's like a shining light in the darkness. He's that person who shows us we can be better, who shows us the way to being better.

In many ways, Levi is the beating heart and soul of Attack on Titan. He's that little bit of hope in the story, that maybe, some day, some how, we really will all find a way to live, showing greater compassion and kindness to one another. That's Levi. By being the best of us, he shows us we can be better too.

[sarcasticsouthernbookworm]

I haven’t finished the new episode yet but so far my favorite bit of this season of Oxventure is Dob and Lilliana not getting along AT ALL

[mirrandapl]

Super Fun Pit. (I always regretted that the original School area didn't make it into the final version of the game. Especially the playground where the students modified the device to make it "more fun". I am most interested in the sandbox that was converted into a Rat Fight arena. I wonder which student was the author of this idea.)